Okazaki City, September 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian recurve archer Neeraj Chauhan pulled off a major upset at the Asian Games, defeating South Korea’s three-time Olympic team gold medallist Kim Je-deok 6-4 to enter the men’s individual quarter-finals at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square on Tuesday.
Kim won mixed team and men’s team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before defending the men’s team title at Paris 2024.
Neeraj took an early 3-1 lead, but Kim fought back to level the contest at 3-3. A tied fourth set made it 4-4 before the Indian held his nerve in the deciding set to seal the win.
Dhiraj Bommadevara also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Hsiang-Hui. Dhiraj, who earlier this month became only the second Indian to win the recurve men’s title at the Archery World Cup Final, will face Uzbekistan’s Amirkon Sadikov.
Neeraj will take on Bhutan’s Dorji Lam in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Earlier, Dhiraj defeated the Philippines’ Girvin Garcia 6-0 in the round of 32, while Neeraj recovered from a 4-0 deficit to beat Indonesia’s Riau Ega Agata 6-4.
India have also advanced to the semifinals in the men’s, women’s and mixed recurve team events. The men’s team of Dhiraj, Neeraj and Yashdeep Bhoge defeated China 5-1, while Kumkum Anil Mohod, Kirti Sharma and Ankita Bhakat beat Chinese Taipei 6-0. Dhiraj and Kumkum also progressed in the mixed team event.
The three semifinals are scheduled for October 2, with India’s men facing Iran, the women taking on China and the mixed team meeting Japan.
The Asian Games offer eight quota places for the LA28 Olympic Games. Two quota places each are available in the recurve men’s and women’s individual events, while the recurve mixed team and compound mixed team champions will earn one men’s and one women’s quota place each.
India recorded its best-ever Asian Games archery campaign at Hangzhou 2023, winning a record nine medals, including five gold, two silver and two bronze.
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